The Indian government, effective Thursday, has banned the export of non-Basmati white rice.

“Export policy of non-Basmati white rice, semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed, is amended from"free to prohibited,” according to a notification from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade.

The notice said the export will be allowed on the basis of permission granted by the Indian government to other countries to meet their food security needs and based on the request of their government.

India has banned non-Basmati rice exports to keep its food reserve intact amid the threat of El Niño disruptions, Indian media reports said.

The El Niño climate event, which is caused by warmer surface waters in the Pacific Ocean, leads to an increased risk of heavy rainfall and droughts in certain parts of the world.

Concerns over the return of the El Niño weather phenomenon have already driven benchmark prices to a two-year high, heightening fears of potential crop damage and exacerbating the upward trajectory of prices in the global rice market, reports said.

The ban also has been put to mitigate the risk of heightened inflation ahead of the upcoming elections.

In September 2022, India had banned exports of broken rice and imposed a 20 percent duty on exports of various grades of rice as it sought to boost domestic supplies and calm local prices after a below-average monsoon rainfall curtailed planting.

The repercussions of the ban were felt immediately in Nepal as the retail prices of imported rice increased by Rs150 to Rs200 per 20-kg bag.

This year's situation is different in Nepal.

With lumpy skin disease killing farmers' cattle by the thousands and El Niño causing weather chaos, Nepal could face food shortages or food price shocks, warn experts.

“The Industry Ministry should take the issue seriously and request the Indian government to consider Nepal favourably,” a trade expert said.

Rice is the staple of Nepali households. Nepalis eat rice in the morning and in the evening. Experts say a supply deficit of even two or three percent could send the market prices soaring.

Nepal requires 4 million tonnes of rice annually to feed its population, and the deficit is made up by imports from India.

According to the Department of Customs, the year-on-year import of rice from India amounted to Rs 14.72 billion in the first 11 months of the last fiscal year. Nepal imported 217,792 tonnes of rice, mostly from India.